Princes in the Tower

The Princes in the Tower is an expression frequently used to refer to King Edward V of England and his younger brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. The two brothers were the only sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville surviving at the time of their father's death in 1483, and their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester was entrusted with their care; he had them stay int he Tower of London, ostensibly as a temporary home before Edward was crowned King of England. However, their uncle instead took the throne for himself and declared the two boys to be illegitimate. To remove the threat that they posed to him, he then had James Tyrrell smother them with a pillow as they slept.